


How Are Thy Leaves So Verdant?

by from_scarlet_to_pink



Series: Kingsman Advent Calendar '17 [13]
Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Advent Calendar, Bridget Jones's Diary References, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2017-12-13
Packaged: 2019-02-14 07:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13002828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/from_scarlet_to_pink/pseuds/from_scarlet_to_pink
Summary: Eggsy comes home and finds that Harry has a gift waiting for him. It's not quite what he had expected.





	How Are Thy Leaves So Verdant?

**Author's Note:**

> working from [this](http://from-scarlet-to-pink.tumblr.com/post/168094448114/verobird-christmas-prompts-some-i-made-up) list of prompts for an advent-calendar
> 
> DEC 13: You made me an ugly Christmas sweater

Eggsy opened the door, having just come back from the mansion, where he was helping to oversee the trials for the Bedivere position. Merlin was busy helping Percival navigate a tricky situation in Barcelona, so Eggsy used the opportunity to train the recruits in safe-cracking. It was a rare occasion that Harry got to the house before he did, the position of Arthur, and the paperwork it brought with it, taking up most of his time these days.

Harry was busy doing the washing up, when Eggsy entered the kitchen, and hugged the taller man from behind. “Hi there. Did you miss me?”

Harry huffed out a laugh. “In the three hours since I’ve last seen you?”

“Yes?” Eggsy pulled away his lover’s collar to press a kiss to the back of his neck. He went to the dining room, pouring two glasses of scotch. He handed one to Harry, who had finished in the kitchen.

“Immeasurably. Thank you, my dear.” He took the tumbler and sipped at the liquor, before pressing a soft kiss to Eggsy’s lips. “I have a gift for you, my love.” He kissed him again, adding a little more pressure. “It’s upstairs.”

“Oh, I like getting gifts upstairs. In the bedroom, I presume?” Eggsy wiggled his eyebrows, turned, and headed towards the stairs.

Harry caught his wrist, turning him around again, slinging his arms around his young lover’s waist. “Indeed. Why don’t you take off your suit jacket, it will help you appreciate your gift.”

Eggsy hummed into the kiss. “I like where this is going. All right then, Mr. Hart. To the bedroom.” He turned, and went upstairs, depositing his jacket on the bannister.

Harry followed him at a more leisurely pace, catching up, as Eggsy was standing in the doorway to the bedroom.

“Harry? What is this?” He still hadn’t entered the room, pointing at the green _thing_ that was lying on the bed.

“That would be the present I told you about. Why don’t you go, and have a closer look?”

Eggsy slowly approached the bed, as he would approach a suspect package during a mission. On the bed laid a monstrosity of a Christmas themed jumper. It was light green, with a Christmas tree knitted in a way, that made it stand out. There were also knit decorations on the tree, garlands, and ornaments, each dangling freely from the garment.

“And, uhm… why?” Eggsy had gotten over the initial shock and was now closer to merely being bemused.

“Do you remember the reaction you had to seeing my own jumper, when we rearranged the closet when you moved in?” Harry looked at him evenly.

“You made me an ugly jumper because I laughed at yours?” Eggsy grinned at him and made to put on the jumper. “Honestly, though, the lengths you go to... I didn’t know that you could knit!” That jumper obviously wasn’t store-bought. Eggsy recognised self-made knit-wear, remembering his gran, who always had knitting needles glued to her hands before she passed away. Plus, no self-respecting shop in London would ever sell this kind of eye-sore.

“I don’t. I ‘made the jumper’ much like you ‘baked Roxanne’s birthday cake'.”

“You had my mum do it?” Eggsy teased, and went to stand in front of the mirror, looking at himself. The star on top of the tree almost came up to the hollow of his neck. It was… just as bad as he had feared.

“Actually, this atrocity is solely to blame on my own.”

Eggsy whipped around at that. “Your mother? Your mother is alive?!” He was absolutely incredulous.

Harry tilted his head. “What made you think otherwise?”

“UHM! The fact that you never mentioned her before now?” Eggsy was still processing the new information.

“Eggsy, I didn’t just pop into existence fully grown, and in a suit.” Harry took another sip of his drink.

“Could’ve fooled me”, Eggsy murmured. “Seriously, though, Harry, we’ve been together for over a year now! How come I’ve never met your mother? Is your father still alive?” Eggsy started pacing in the room. “How is it, that you’ve never talked about them in present tense? I asked you about your parents, and all you said was that your mother was a teacher, and your father worked in a bank! You made it sound like they were dead, what the hell?”

Harry started to look a touch uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, my love. I never actively meant to deceive you like this.”

“Actively?” He was fully paying attention to every movement Harry made, every breath he took, every twitch of his face. Harry Hart was a superb spy, but Eggsy knew every tell he had. “That is a loaded word, there, Harry.”

Harry took a moment to collect his thoughts, and sat down on the edge of the bed. “When I joined Kingsman, it wasn’t all too difficult to sever the ties I had to my family. My mother broke quite a few of society’s rules by marrying my father. You remember the way the other recruits looked at you, when you walked into the dorm. I dare say it was even worse when I was a recruit myself. I hadn’t been close to my family in years, my decision to join the army, and follow in the traditional footsteps was reason for many an argument we had in our home. I actually joined the army under my mother’s maiden name, and have kept it ever since.” He took a deep breath, and nursed his scotch, before continuing. “I told myself that it was safer for them, if I stayed away, if I didn’t put a target on their backs, due to my chosen profession.

“After V-Day I reached out to them. I had kept an eye on them from afar, of course, but that day… changed a lot of things, obviously. We haven’t exactly been close, but we do keep in touch, now.” He smiled, and looked up to seek Eggsy’s eyes. “I told them about a young man I was seeing, how utterly in love I was, and how I thought about bringing him home for Christmas. Mother decided to make you your own jumper, so you wouldn’t feel left out. We all have to wear them for the party.” Harry got up, and moved to stand in front of the mirror with Eggsy.

Eggsy was quiet throughout Harry’s story. He couldn’t imagine being separated from his family like that, and he felt bad for the young Harry in the story, and also the Harry standing next to him, having missed so much time with his family. It also made him see the jumper in a new light. It was still hideous, incredibly so, but it was also a sign of reconciliation between Harry and his family, and welcoming gift for him to be a part of that family. All in all, it wasn’t so bad.

“All right.” He didn’t know how to properly convey his feelings on the matter, so he did what he always did, to make Harry and himself feel better - he pulled him into a tight hug.

“Harry?” He murmured against Harry’s cardigan.

“Yes, dear?” Harry was speaking very softy, playing with the hairs on Eggsy’s nape.

“Will you put on your ugly jumper, so we can see what we look like together? Might as well practice for the Christmas cards.” He smiled up at the older man. “I’ll make sure everyone gets one. Mum, Roxy, Merlin, Ryan and Jamal, all the knights, staff, and recruits.”

“Like hell you will.” Harry bent down to kiss Eggsy.

“Nope!” Eggsy leaned away from the kiss, so that it only caught the edge of his mouth. “Won’t be distracting me now. Get the jumper!” He levelled Harry with his best puppy-dog-eyes, which he knew he had no defense against. “Please?”

“If you insist.” Harry went to the back of his closet, and opened a drawer. On the bottom of it he found the maroon jumper with the candy red Stocking knitted on it. He took off his cardigan, and replaced it with the jumper, walking towards Eggsy, to stand in front of the full-length mirror.

“Look at us, Christmas Tree and Stocking, spreading cheer to everyone who sees us.” Eggsy pulled out his phone and took a couple of pictures, some in the mirror, and some selfies of the two, before selecting one of them to be his new screen-saver.

“Indeed. And believe me, ours aren’t even the worst jumpers in the family. The ones of my brother Mark and his wife have a reindeer and a snowman on them. And I think mother is currently working on one with a wreath on it for their baby son.” Harry took the jumper off again, and sat on the bed.

“You have a brother… with a family… Jesus, Harry.” Eggsy shook his head, when something occurred to him. “So, if ‘Hart’ is your mother’s maiden name, what is the name on your birth certificate?”

“Henry Edward Darcy.”

“Darcy. What, like Jane Austen?” He smiled, walking over to the bed, and straddled Harry’s legs. “I got me my own Mr. Darcy, fancy that.” Eggsy leaned in and kissed his partner’s lips softly.

“My brother is actually called Mark Fitzwilliam Darcy. Thank God for small mercies, that it’s him and not me.”

Eggsy laughed at Harry’s words, before deciding that their time was really much better spent kissing instead of talking.


End file.
